The Creekside Dental Blog
A Guide to Teeth Whitening
Are your pearly whites not so white anymore? There are many options available to you to get your smile looking bright again. First let’s discuss why your smile isn’t what it used to be. Food and Drink-red wine, coffee and tea are some of the major causes of stain...
How do I keep my teeth straight after Braces?
It is such a wonderful feeling to have a beautiful smile after you’ve just completed your orthodontic treatment! One of the most critical stages of your orthodontic treatment is just starting -- the retention/retainer stage. Retention is the process of ensuring that...
How to Beat a Sugar Addiction
Sugar is a sneaky, addictive substance and making the break from it isn’t always as easy as just making the decision to stop. It’s helpful to understand what sugar does to our bodies, physically and emotionally, to put an effective sugar-kicking strategy in place....
Smoking and Your Dental Health
Are you ready to quit smoking? Have you tried quitting? Do you think about quitting? There are numerous health reasons why cessation of smoking is vital. When it comes to dentistry and smoking, periodontal disease is what lands at the top of the list. Periodontal...
How Beneficial is Fluoride for My Teeth?
One of the most common questions that I hear as a hygienist is “what toothpaste should I be using?” My answer depends on a patient’s specific needs and can vary, but for the average person my answer is “a fluoride toothpaste.” The enamel on your teeth is made up...
How Often Do I Need X-Rays at the Dentist?
Radiographs, or “x-rays”, are a tool used to detect disease or abnormalities in the body, including the teeth. Simply put, x-rays are images created on film when energy passes through the tooth and is absorbed into the film. This is very similar to the way visible...
Why Do I Need a Deep Cleaning?
When a patient comes into our office for the first time, before any treatment can be done, they first need to be examined to see what treatment is appropriate for their specific dental condition. X-rays will be taken and a health history will be reviewed. In addition...
Does a Water Flosser (Waterpik) replace flossing?
A Waterpik Water Flosser is a wonderful gadget that is used to flush out food debris from around the teeth and gums. Water pulsates out of a specialized tip that you then trace around your gum line in a pattern. It dilutes nasty acids and toxins and over time it...
I Hate the Dentist!
You may have thought this before or even said it out loud. In our busy dental practice, we hear it every day. There are many reasons why people feel negatively towards the dentist. Sometimes patients have had bad experiences as a child and that feeling has stuck with...
Welcome!
To our Patients and the Community of Tri-Cities: Welcome to our newly created Creekside Dental Blog! It is 2017 and our office turns 12 years young this April. We have had the pleasure of serving many residents of the Tri-Cities and caring for their oral health since...
Should I Have White or Silver Fillings?
The two most common dental materials for restoring teeth are amalgam (silver) and composite (white/tooth-colored) fillings. When choosing a dental material for restoring teeth, we often receive two questions: what is the difference between the two types of...
What is the Appropriate Age to Bring my Child to the Dentist?
This is a common question parents contemplate as their child starts developing teeth. The short and simple answer is to begin dental check-ups by the time the first tooth appears (often around 6 months of age) or by the first birthday. Not all kids develop teeth at...